This invention relates to desktop and hand-held barcode printers and, more particularly, to a printer for printing a ten digit Postnet barcode on an envelope comprising, input means for a user to manually input digits comprising a ZIP Code of an addressee; calculator means for calculating a tenth digit representing a check value associated with the digits of the ZIP Code; and, printer means for printing a sequence of Postnet barcode characters corresponding to respective ones of the digits of the ZIP Code and the tenth digit preceded and followed by single long bars indicating the start and end of the ten digit Postnet barcode.
The movement of mail in a timely manner is one of the prime concerns of most businesses and many individuals. Over the years, as the amount of mail to be delivered has continued to increase year by year, users have found that the cost has risen and the service schedule has become worse and worse. Domestic mail delivery used to be like international mail delivery; that is, if "surface mail" was designated, the delivery was a long process and if "air mail" was designated, the delivery time was shortened considerably. For example, domestic surface delivery from one coast to the other typically took close to a week while air mail (for only a few cents more) could result in delivery in two days, and some times even one.
The domestic designation of "air mail" was abolished some time back. Since that time, the time for delivery has risen to the point where it sometimes takes almost as long as the old "surface mail". The primary cause of these delays appears to be in sorting the ever-increasing volume of mail to point it towards its ultimate destination. A number of years ago, the U.S. Postal Service introduced the so-called ZIP Code which is appended to an address following the State designation. The five digit ZIP Code provided a general routing for mail indicating the ultimate delivery location on a general city area basis. More recently, the U.S. Postal Service has introduced the so-called ZIP+4 Code which provides routing for a letter practically to the addressee's doorstep.
To use the ZIP+4 Code more effectively, the U.S. Postal Service has also begun using automated routing machinery which scans each letter for the ZIP+4 Code in a unique barcode format called Postnet. When a letter is received by the U.S. Postal Service at a receiving station, apparatus at the receiving station recognizes the presence of the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode on an incoming envelope and immediately routes it to be included with the barcoded mail. Unbarcoded mail is scanned by optical character recognition (OCR) devices to determine if the ZIP or ZIP+4 Code is contained thereon as part of the address. If it is, the automated machinery prints the Postnet barcode representation thereof adjacent the bottom righthand edge of the envelope within a "Postnet clear zone". Thereafter, the envelope is routed completely by automated machinery on the basis of the Postnet barcode. If the ZIP or ZIP+4 Code is not readable by the OCR equipment (as in the case of hand-written addresses, it must be reviewed by a human operator and the appropriate ZIP+4 Code manually input, if there. That, of course, greatly delays the initial processing of that particular piece of mail.
As can be appreciated, if mailed envelopes were to have their ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode representations printed within the Postnet clear zone at the time of mailing, it would be of benefit to all concerned. Many companies have their return envelopes (for bill paying etc.) pre-printed with their own ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode for that very reason. The result is a vast increase in the speed of delivery and much lower handling cost for the U.S. Postal Service. In fact, use of the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode on mailed articles can decrease delivery time by as much as one or two days and is such a savings to the U.S. Postal Service that they will provide a reduced postage rate for bulk users.
Thus, it can be seen that if most businesses and individuals pre-stamped their mail with the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode of the recipient, much use of high-cost overnight delivery services could be eliminated (with attendant savings to the sender) and projected increases in postal rates could be reduced or possibly be avoided altogether.
At present, there is no low-cost means for the average business and individual to add the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode to their mail. The lowest cost "desktop" models of Postnet barcode printer presently available appear to be in the $20,000.00 range. This is certainly outside of the range of the vast majority of potential users and beneficiaries of the practice.
Wherefore, it is an object of this invention to provide very low cost apparatus for allowing a user to add the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode of each addressee to their mail at the time of addressing the envelope prior to mailing.
It is another object of this invention to provide a hand-held envelope printer for allowing a user to add the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode of each addressee to their mail at the time of addressing the envelope prior to mailing.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a manually operated desk-top envelope printer for allowing a user to add the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode of each addressee to their mail at the time of addressing the envelope prior to mailing.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a low-cost electronic/electrically operated desktop envelope printer for allowing a user to add the ZIP+4 Code Postnet barcode of each addressee to their mail at the time of addressing the envelope prior to mailing.
Other objects and benefits of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows hereinafter when taken in conjunction with the drawing figures which accompany it.